Mats



y 1965 CHOJIRO CHOSHI 3,185,119

MATS

Original Filed July 29, 1960 INVENTOR. CHOU'iRO CHOSl-H BY wwgw ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 1960. This application Aug. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 393,115 1 Claim. (Cl. 112-412) This invention relates generally to a novel construction of mat, pad, rug or the like, adapted for use as a floor covering or otherwise, and is especially concerned with a unique cord construction for use in such floor covering or the like. This application is a continuation of my prior US. application Serial No. 46,296, filed July 29, 1960 and now abandoned.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a mat or rug employing a cord construction of the instant invention, which mat or rug presents the appearance of a conventional rope mat, but is capable of substantial economies in manufacture and greatly increased durability and wear in use.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cord construction for a mat which accurately simulates a plurality of ropes secured together in side-byside relation.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a mat construction according to the teachings herein which is capable of many varied esthetically attractive appearances, without departing from a predetermined manufacturing procedure.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a mat, pad or rug constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, top perspective view showing a cord construction of the mat of FIG. 1, with parts broken and parts turned back for clarity of understanding.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to FIG. 1 thereof, a rug, mat or pad is there generally designated 10, and includes a cord construction 11 helically wound upon itself with adjacent convolutions secured together in contiguous, coplanar relation, as by stitching 12. That is, the stitching 12, which may preferably be of the zigzag or feather type, extends along the contiguous regions of each adjacent pair of convolutions, passing therethrough and securing adjacent convolutions in firm abutting engagement.

The cord construction 11 is seen in detail in FIG. 2 as including an inner core 15 formed of a plurality of longitudinally extending core yarns or strands 16. The strands 16 may be of any elongate, soft yieldable material, and are not exposed to view or subjected to ap preciable wear, so that relatively inexpensive material may be employed. These strands 16 may extend substantially straight, longitudinally of each other, or may be wound spirally or interwoven, as desired.

A plurality of outer yarns 18 are spirally or helically coiled around about the core 15 to completely cover the latter. Further, certain groups of the outer yarns 18, such as the groups 17 extend spirally or helically in one angular direction about the core 15, while other groups 19 of the outer yarns extend spirally or helically about the core in the opposite angular direction. Each group 17 and 19 may include one or more yarns, three being shown in the drawing for purposes of illustration.

The helix angle or pitch of winding of the groups 17 is the same as or equal to that of the groups 19, so that the groups include intersecting or crossing portions located along a longitudinal line with respect to the core 15. Thus, as seen, the outer-yarn groups 17 include crossing portions 20 externally overlying portions of the groups 19, while the latter groups include crossing portions 21 externally overlying portions of the groups 17. These crossing portions 20 and 21 are of exaggerated size in the drawings, for clarity of illustration, and lie upon a line extending longitudinally along the core 15. Of course, similar crossing portions lie upon a longitudinally extending region or line directly opposite to that shown in the drawing, on the underside of the core 15. While the outer yarns 18 and their crossing portions 20 and 212m exaggerated in FIG. 2, it may be seen in FIG. 1 that the yarns of groups 17 and 19 define respective lengths or sides of a series of nested V-shaped formations, with the crossing portions 20 and 21 located at the vertices of the Vs.

The V formation of the outer yarns 18 presents the appearance of a pair of spirally wound cords arranged in side-by-side contiguous relation, such as that shown in FIG. 2 of US. Patent No. 3,002,334.

In addition, a line of stitching 24- passes through the cord construction 11, longitudinally thereof. The stitching 24 is located along the crossing regions 20 and 21, at the opposite, underside crossing regions of the outer yarns. This stitching 24 thus serves to firmly bind and secure the outer yarns 18, and particularly the crossing regions 20 and 21 to the inner core 15 for a firmer, stronger and more durable cord construction. Further, as the stitching 24 extends along the crossing regions 20 and 21, which define the vertices of the nested V-shaped configurations, the appearance of the stitching 24 serves to provide a sharp line of demarcation between opposite legs or sides of the Vs, to further enhance the visual appearance of a pair of spirally wound cords in side-by-side relation.

For increased wearing characteristics, and also to obtain certain desired external patterns, the number of outer yarns 18 in the groups 17 and 19 may be selected, conjointly with the determination of the pitch or helix angle of the spirally wound groups, to completely cover and conceal the inner core 15, or to provide a plural layer of outer yarn-s covering the inner core.

It will now be understood that the cord 11, in its closely coiled coplanar relation of FIG. 1, with the stitching 12 securing adjacent convolutions in abutting engagement accurately simulates the appearance of a conventional rope mat. Further, by the V-shaped external configuration of the outer yarns 18, and further by the demarcation of stitching 24, there is presented the appearance of a mat having twice the number of convolutions, without the expense involved therein. Of course, the cord construction 11 may be utilized in other than coiled mats, also obtaining therein the same advantageous results.

From the foregoing it is seen that the present invention provides a rug or mat construction, and especially a novel cord construction for rugs or mats which fully accomplishes the intended objects and is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture and use.

Although the present invention has ben described in some detail by Way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a coiled mat, a coil cord construction simulating braiding comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending inner strands defining a core, said strands being ar- 3 ranged to configure said core relatively fiat with upper and lower faces and sides, and a plurality of outer yarns completely surrounding and covering said core, a first group of said yarns extending spirally around said core in one angular direction and a second complementary group of said yarns extending spirally about said core in an opposite angular direction to said first group, each yarn of either group, in one complete turn of the yarn, starting at a point along a central longitudinal line on said upper face of said core, extending under all yarns of the other group to a point along a central longitudinal line on one side of said core, then extending over all yarns of the other group to a point along a central longitudinal line on said lower face of said core, then extending under all yarns of the other group to a point along a central longitudinal line on the other side of said core and finally extending over all yarns of the other group to a point along said central longitudinal line on said upper face of said core, all of the exposed yarns on either side of the central longitudinal line on each face of the core belonging to a single group and being in successive abutting relation, the resulting opposite angular inclination of the exposed yarns on the respective sides of the central longitudinal line on each face of the cord simulating the appearance of braid, the width of said core being approximately twice the height thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,464,879 8/23 Mathis 161-35 1,481,001 1/24 Fenton 161-35 1,664,497 4/28 Waite 161-35 1,857,877 5/32 Schemmel 87-8 2,512,959 6/50 Mintel 112-412 2,979,982 4/ 61 Weitzel 87-6 3,002,334 10/61 Yasuno 57-149 3,036,490 5/62 Muller et al. 87-6 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

